5 Tips for Responding to Negative Feedback

It’s never fun to hear something not so good – about your products, your service, or your performance. But we’ve all been there. Whether it comes in the form of comments on a survey, an apartment review, or a message on a social media channel, responding to negative feedback is a must.

Check out these 5 tips for responding to negative feedback.

1. Listen. No, I mean truly make an effort to understand the concern or complaint from that person’s point of view. Constructive criticism can be very helpful to improving the overall experience for everyone.

2. Stay calm. One of the most difficult things to do is to accept negative feedback – especially something you take personally – without reacting from our inner instinct to defend ourselves. Keep an open mind, and resist being immediately defensive.

3. Consider it. You should respond to negative feedback for several reasons, but there as just as many reasons to delay doing so. First, a quick response tells the person you did not really think about what they said before replying. It’s always a good idea to write the response but read it, walk away from it for a bit, and think about it before you send it.

4. Be accountable. Hey, we all try to do our best but sometimes things fall through the cracks or we make mistakes. We’re all human and the person who has provided negative feedback knows this. Customers don’t expect us to be perfect, but they do expect us to accept responsibility and to fix things when they go wrong.

5. Don’t beat yourself up. Once you respond to the negative feedback and you’ve taken any appropriate action to solve the problem, you have to move on. Stay open and focus on your continued goals of providing an excellent customer experience.

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